1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a user-name switching method and more specifically to a user-name switching method when a terminal receives service that is provided by a server using multiple user-names and characters associated with the user-names.
2. Description of the Related Art
A video game machine having an Internet connection function installed thereon is connected to a server of an ISP (Internet Service Provider), and this enables the user to receive various kinds of services that the server provides. The user can receive many types of services, such as distribution of game software, battle type games via a network, etc. In order to receive such services, the user generally performs user registration to the ISP in advance. The ISP manages attribute information of the user and collects fees for each service based on information registered by the user.
Information to be registered by the user includes a user-name (handle name) and a password to log into the server together with the user's attributes, such as an address, a name, a telephone number, etc. The user-name does not have to be the same as the user's real name. For example, in the battle type game that the ISP provides, the user can register at least one character appearing on the game and at least one user-name to be associated with the character, and participate in the game anonymously.
When the kinds of games provided by the ISP are diversified, the user sometimes wishes to switch the user-name for each game title and/or use multiple characters for one user-name when participating in the game. However, in the case of being provided a service using multiple user-names from a server, the user-name currently in use must be recognized by both the user terminal and the server. In the case of participating in the game using multiple characters, a match between the user-name and character must be established by both the user terminal and the server. In the case where the user participates in multiple games at the same time, both the user terminal and the server must recognize which user-name is used for each game and which character is used in each game.